Global Perspective

Coral reef ecosystems are under increasing pressure,
and the threats are primarily from human interactions. In some cases,
natural disturbances further compound the effects of anthropogenic
stress. Of the approximate 600,000 km2 of coral reefs world-wide, it
is estimated that about 10 percent have already been degraded beyond
recovery and another 30 percent are likely to decline significantly
within the next 20 years. In addition, unless effective integrated
coastal zone management is implemented, more than two-thirds of the
world's coral reefs may become seriously depleted of corals and
associated biota within two generations. Coral reef ecosystems at
greatest risk are in South and Southeast Asia, East Africa, and the
Caribbean, however people have damaged or destroyed reefs in over 93
countries (IUCN, 1993). Rapid population growth and migration to
coastal areas where coral reef ecosystems occur exacerbate the
problem. The resulting coastal congestion leads to increasing
competition for limited resources, to increased coastal pollution,
and to problems related to coastal construction. Technology also
allows humans to exploit the reef with mechanical dredges, hydraulic
suction, dynamiting, and large-scale poisoning. More specifically,
the major causes of coral reef ecosystem decline include:

The overexploitation of reef resources (fish stocks have
declined significantly in many reef areas, especially near centers
of human population);

Excessive domestic and agricultural pollution; and

Poor land use practices that increase sedimentation.

Millions of people depend on reefs for food and livelihood. Reefs
also create sheltered lagoons and protect coastlines and mangroves
against wave damage. Mangroves in turn protect reefs from
sedimentation and eutrophication. Mangroves and seagrasses also play
an important role in coastal protection and provide spawning and
nursery areas for reef and offshore fishes. The economies of many
atoll nations are based on marine resources. In the Pacific, over 2.5
million people live on islands built by or surrounded by coral reef
ecosystems. Over 300,000 people live on coral islands in the Indian
Ocean and many more in the Caribbean. Coral reefs provide 10-12
percent of the harvest of finfish and shellfish in tropical countries
and about 20-25 percent of the fish catch of developing countries. As
much as 90 percent of the animal protein consumed on many Pacific
islands comes from marine sources (IUCN, 1993). The potential
sustainable yield of fishes, crustaceans, and molluscs from coral
reefs could be 9 million metric tons -- 12 percent of the world
fisheries catch. At the present time only a fraction of this
potential is realized. Even more important than the actual monetary
amount is the people who benefit from these fisheries as they are a
major source of income and employment in areas where few employment
alternatives exist. Tourism and recreation use of reefs on a
large-scale are recent developments. Numerous figures are available
describing tourist revenue from coral reefs, but few are clearly
defined or comparable. The coral reefs of Florida alone have been
estimated to generate about US $1.6 billion annually from recreation
uses. Figures for developing world countries are better expressed in
other ways -- for many Caribbean countries tourism is now the key
economic sector, often providing over 50 percent of GNP, and growing
very fast. In 1990, Caribbean tourism earned US $8.9 billion and
employed over 350,000 people. Divers and other special-interest
tourists may account for over one-fifth or more of this total. A 1981
Island Resources Foundation cost benefit study of the Virgin Islands
National Park found that benefits (US $23.3 million, of which US $20
million were indirect) were more than ten times larger than costs (US
$2.1 million), which clearly illustrates the economic benefits of
marine protected areas (Dixon, 1993). In Thailand, about 5,000 small
boat and dive shop operations are dependent on reef tourism (Spencer
Davies and Brown 1992). Collecting aquarium fish and live corals for
European and North American markets has developed into another
lucrative but sometimes damaging industry. Harvesting often kills
organisms not intended for collection and more than 50 per-cent of
the fish collected die before reaching market. Tourism can be an
environmentally friendly way of generating income from coral reef
ecosystems, but only when resort development and operation are
carefully controlled. Unlimited collecting, sport fishing, and
accidental damage by waders, swimmers, and boat anchors can all
degrade the reefs that earn tourist dollars. Allowing sewage and
other wastes from tourist facilities to pollute reefs or siting
resorts so that beach erosion increases, can be even more degrading
to the health of the reef than the direct damage caused by visitors.

Information for accurately evaluating the condition of the world's
reefs is critical for effective management. However, in many cases
this knowledge is lacking. Many countries with coral reef ecosystems
need training and capacity building to apply scientific management
principles. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have and will
continue to play a major role in coral reef ecosystem conservation.
Since most countries have not incorporated integrated coastal zone
management, economic and environmental decision making has not been
fully integrated to protect and sustainably use coral reef
ecosystems.

The Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) project of
the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) held a meeting
in the Philippines from 24-27 April, 1995. A major concern of this
international project is determining the role of coastal processes in
global climate change. Discussions highlighted the need to better
understand coral reef systems, which may play a crucial role in the
circulation of CO2 and other gases. There is a need to better
understand human impacts on reef functions, the responses of reefs to
changes in sea level, and the interactions between coral reefs and
other ecosystems. In particular, more needs to be known about
interactions with adjacent land masses, such as through the
hydrological cycle. Concern was raised that rising sea level would
have very serious consequences for nations situated on low, coral
reef archipelagos, such as the Maldives. An important workshop on
these issues is expected to take place in Japan within the next
several months.

Further activities will include the International Coral Reef
Symposium (ICRS) to be held in Panama in mid-1996. This is one of a
series of symposia held periodically and serves as a major forum for
exchanging information on the science and management of coral reefs,
particularly among developing country scientists. The 1996 ICRS will
mark the onset of the Year of the Reef. The latter will
involve a variety of national and international activities aimed at
improving coral reef management. Among the more important activities
for which support is being sought will be coordinated surveys of
coral reefs around the world and the establishment of a global coral
reef monitoring program. These activities will be extremely important
in efforts to determine the status of the coral reefs of the world
and to determine how global changes will affect people dependent on
coral reefs.

A project which is specifically designed to provide centralized
access to information from these and other coral reef programs is
ReefBase: the International Database on Coral Reefs. This project of
the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management
(ICLARM) seeks to gather a broad range of information about the
status of the world's reefs from papers, reports and inputs from
monitoring projects. The project includes an activity of the World
Conservation Monitoring Center to digitize maps of coral reefs and to
make them available through the database. The ReefBase project serves
as a medium of information exchange for scientists, particularly
those in developing countries with limited library facilities, and as
a conduit of useful information to coastal planners and managers.

Some initial results of the ReefBase Project are displayed in
Maps 6-11. Each of the maps shows the countries
or island states of the world with direct responsibility for coral
reefs in dark green, and countries with less developed coral
communities in light green. Maps 6-10 show the
global dispersion of five forms of stress on coral reefs. These maps
are not comprehensive, but serve to indicate the scale of each
problem.

The coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish
Acanthaster has had many outbreaks in the past
decade throughout the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia. The
frequency of these often devastating outbreaks may be
increasing, possibly a result of human activities.

Bleaching of corals involves the expulsion by the
corals of the single-celled algae which normally live in
their tissues, and on which they depend as a major food
source. Increasing cases of widespread bleaching may be a
consequence of global warming.

A map of sedimentation problems combines effects
of increased runoff from deforestation, the dumping of mine
tailings, and sediment from a variety of construction
projects. Sediment in low amounts reduces coral growth and
resilience to stress. In large amounts, particularly during
storms, sediment can bury corals or whole coral communities.

Map 8: Selected reports of damage to reefs by
sedimentation, including that related to run-off from land
and that associated with construction activities damaging to
reefs.

click on map for larger (~60K) version

Pollution is a rising problem, particularly that
from urban centers and organic pollution from coastal
villages and tourist facilities. Organic pollution often
enables seaweed to overgrow coral communities, and there is
a need to develop more practical, low-cost methods to reduce
this pollution in coastal situations.

Blast fishing is widely dispersed and rapidly
growing. As with other forms of destructive fishing
associated with the condition known as Malthusian
overfishing, such as poisoning and muro ami fishing, the
problem tends to increase as human populations increase,
resulting in increasingly desperate competition for reef
resources. To date, more than 40 countries are known to have
problems with blast fishing on coral reefs, and more than 15
have reported cyanide fishing.

Map 11 shows the marine protected areas covering
coral reefs which are currently recognized by the World
Conservation Monitoring Center (some 353 worldwide). The
size of the dots is misleading, as the total area enclosed
by these reserves and parks is extremely small relative to
the coral reef area of the world (less than 1/1000th). There
are other protected coral reef areas which do not yet meet
the criteria used for this list. However, the total size and
dispersion of all protected reefs combined, even if they
were effectively managed, is currently inadequate to
preserve the biodiversity and fishery production of reefs in
any part of the world outside of eastern Australia. A more
reasonable system would protect at least 20 percent of all
coral reef areas in combinations of large and small reserves
and parks.

International legal protections and cooperative frameworks for
coral reef ecosystems take numerous forms, addressing such problems
as coral trade, marine protected area designation, and land-based and
sea-based pollution. For example, many, but not all, species of coral
are listed in Appendix II of CITES, which requires them to be
accompanied by permits for importation. A very limited number of
coral reef sites are listed in such treaties as the World Heritage
and Ramsar Conventions.

Human Consequences

Degradation of coral reef ecosystems would have significant impact
on world food sources, and long-term negative economic impacts on
fishery and tourist industries, and a devastating effect on millions
of people around the world for whom coral reefs represent the primary
source of livelihood.

Preliminary Recommendations for
Action

Integrated Coastal Zone Management

Immediate governmental priority must be placed on the
development and implementation of integrated coastal zone
management strategies to effectively manage the coral reef
ecosystems of the world. These strategies should address human
activities in the coastal watershed and marine area and involve
combinations of:

Public education, including education in the use of
traditional forms of reef tenure and management and education on
sustainable use practices;

Community development;

Economic incentives and alternative income generation;

Global or regional legal instruments should be used in
an efficient manner as well as strengthened for the conservation
and sustainable use of coral reef ecosystems;

Combining these management techniques is critical for success.
If used alone, these techniques tend to be ineffective over the
long term. They must be strongly supported at scales ranging from
the village to nation, and often at the regional scale as well.
They must be oriented toward long term sustainability of reef
resources, and designed to be adaptive to different
cultures/governments and changing situations without compromising
effectiveness.

There are a number of examples from around the world of good,
economically viable, and environmentally sustainable uses of coral
reefs -- these come from traditional and indigenous resource-use
systems and from western coastal zone management and protected
areas systems. These examples should be studied, adapted, and used
around the world to further promote sustainable use and
conservation of coral reefs in a manner that should enhance rather
than hinder economic development (White et al., 1994).

A worldwide system of marine protected areas should be
established to encompass at least 20 percent of all reefs. This
should include widely dispersed small reserves involving up to a
few tens of square kilometers, and several strategically located
large reserves at the scale of hundreds or thousands of square
kilometers. Examples of the latter would include the existing
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, as well as proposed parks
encompassing the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean and
similar systems in the Pacific and Caribbean regions. Ideally,
these protected areas should form part of wider coastal zone
planning initiatives encompassing the reef systems of entire
countries and integrating the needs, of local peoples, commercial
fisheries, tourism, terrestrial construction and agriculture needs
and nature conservation.

Capacity Building

A concerted effort must be made to enhance the capacities of
countries, particularly developing countries, responsible for
coral reefs to conduct scientific research and to design and
implement informed, effective, integrated management systems. This
implies not only the transfer of information, but more
importantly, the exchange of experiential learning among
developing countries.

Improved Scientific Understanding of Coral Reef Ecosystems

Efforts must be enhanced to survey the coral reefs of the
world to provide information on their ecological and management
status; and

Scientific management information is needed for:

Understanding the relationship of natural to
anthropogenic impacts;

Conducting damage assessments;

Understanding coral recruitment and the maintenance and
renewal of reefs;

Understanding water circulation patterns to determine
the distribution of reefs and the fate of pollutants; and

Developing an improved scientific concept of what
constitutes a healthy reef so it will be possible to gage changes
on impacted ecosystems (Ginsburg, 1994).

So that the health of coral reef ecosystems can be monitored
in a systematic manner, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic
Commission (IOC) Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network should be
established and maintained. This will provide valuable data to the
larger Global Ocean Observing System. This information will not
only help local authorities monitor the health of their coral reef
ecosystems and improve management capabilities, it will also
provide a perspective on the condition of coral reef ecosystems
and climate change world-wide.

In conclusion, the coral reef ecosystems of the world
represent an important resource, both in terms of global biological
diversity and with respect to the well-being of the people who live
near and depend upon them. Many are at risk and need better
management. The future actions of managers, scientists, national
bodies, local communities and international programs will be critical
in saving these natural treasures (IUCN, 1993).